Here Comes The Sun
Chapter 13
By: The Duchess of Arendelle
AN: Sorry for any mistakes. I'm not going to lie, I really like how this chapter turned out. I hope you guys enjoy it, it's a dozy! Oh, and please read the author's note, or at least the P.S. at the end. I really really need you guys input on something pertaining to the story.
"Wow Anna, you look terrible."
"Gee, thanks Kristoff. That's what every girl wants to hear. No wonder you're beating them off with a stick." Anna dead panned as she glared at Kristoff. Kristoff, Rapunzel, and Anna were all currently seated at the breakfast table. Anna had just shuffled in late while Elsa had opted to take breakfast in her study so she could "get started on her duties." Yeah right. She looked just as horrible, if not more so, than Anna did and she didn't want anyone to see. 'Maybe I should have joined her.' Anna thought to herself as she contemplated rather or not it was too late to go back.
"Whoa. Ouch. That hurt feisty pants." Kristoff responded as he stole a slice of bacon from Anna's plate. He narrowly missed a fork going through his hand. He tried for another piece but quickly thought better of it when Anna threw him a look that said 'Touch my bacon again, and you fucking die. Seriously, they'll never find the body.' Kristoff gulped hard and slowly retracted his hand, reaching for his orange juice instead.
"Seriously Anna, what's gotten into you?" Rapunzel asked, concerned over her friend's grumpy behavior.
"Obviously not Elsa…" Kristoff mumbled into his glass. "Oww! What the fuc- What was that for?" Kristoff was now holding his bruised head. Anna had thrown and hit him with a silver platter. She smirked at his pain, feeling just a little better.
"Suck it up Kristopher." Anna spoke as she turned to speak to Rapunzel. "It's Kristoff!" Anna ignored him as she spoke to Rapunzel.
"Sorry Punz, I guess I just had a really long night."
"What happened?" Rapunzel asked, concern laced in her voice.
"Long story short? I'm a idiot who doesn't know how to keep the past in the past." Anna said as she looked down into her food, using her fork to poke at her eggs.
"You and Elsa had a fight." It wasn't a question and Anna nodded her head in confirmation.
"But everything's alright now, I think. I hope. I mean, we made up before we went to bed last night. But it still feels a little… tense between us."
"Oh, sweetie. That's understandable. It's what real couples do, I would be more concerned if you guys never fought. I mean, Eugene and I argue all the time, sometimes we don't speak to each other for days afterward. We're both stubborn that way. But even after we kiss and make up there's still a little tension between us. That's normal. It happens with all couples." Rapunzel had the most reassuring smile on her face and Anna, still looking at her food asked,
"Really?" Rapunzel lifted Anna's chin so she could look at her face and not the top of her head.
"Really." She assured.
Anna smiled at Rapunzel, happy to know that things between Elsa and herself were going to be okay. She then happily began digging into her food, going back for 2nds, 3rds, and when she tried to go back for a 4th Rapunzel, who was staring at the whole horrifying scene, mouth agape along with Kristoff, spoke up.
"Um, Anna, don't you think that's enough?" Rapunzel asked hesitantly. Anna turned to look at her, mouth full of bacon and pancakes, and swallowed before she answered with an embarrassed giggle.
"Sorry, last night was emotionally draining, I mean I hadn't been that drained since Elsa's coronation ball! I'm starving." Anna explained as she began to dig back in. Rapunzel exchanged looks with Kristoff and he nodded his head for Rapunzel to go on.
"Speaking of balls. Have you decided what you are going to do about the upcoming one?" Rapunzel asked. Anna immediately stopped chewing, her expression turning grim as she swallowed.
"No, and I've been thinking about it nonstop. I just can't find a realistic solution, that doesn't involve murdering, maiming, or laming, all the guest prince's. The shark tank idea is still on the table." Anna responded as she finally put her fork down and daintily wiped her mouth. 'A little late to start acting like a proper princess now.' Kristoff thought but wouldn't dare speak it out loud. His head was still recovering.
"It's just so frustrating! It's like, there's nothing I can do! Even if we weren't sisters they'd still never let the queen marry a woman." Anna was now sitting back in her chair, arms folded. She was so angry and sad and frustrated and filled with so many other emotions.
"Well, what can you do?" Kristoff asked, taking a bite of his pancakes. "It's not like you can turn into a man." Kristoff chuckled around his mouthful of food. The notion of Anna as a man was hilarious.
Anna, on the other hand, eyes lit up at the prospect. She quickly turned to Rapunzel. It looked as if she had picked up the same idea.
"Of course! Kristoff you're a genius!" Anna exclaimed jumping from her seat.
"I am?" He muttered, food still in his mouth.
"You really are! I think you just saved the day!" Rapunzel said, jumping out of her seat as well.
"I did?" he asked confused, swallowing his food.
"Come on Punz! We need to go speak with Claudette ASAP!"
"Wait, I'm lost. What's going on?" Kristoff asked to no avail.
"I'm right behind you!" Rapunzel said as she ran out of the room behind Anna. The girl was really booking it. Kristoff sat there, in a daze, completely alone at the table.
"What the hell just happened?" he loudly exclaimed inside the empty room.
***FROZEN***
Across the castle, Elsa sat in her study. She had decided to take more time to recover and make herself more presentable than Anna did. She was queen after all and it wouldn't do for her to have bags and dark circles under her eyes. She had long since finished her breakfast and was now starting on some long overdue paperwork. As she finished signing one document and started reading over the next, she suddenly heard a knock come at the door. Three knocks to be exact. They were swift and hard, not like Anna's or Kai's or Gerda's. She knew their knocks. This knock sounded a little too hard and manly so Rapunzel was out of the question. The knock was also very confident, which Elsa knew Kristoff was not when it came to her. So he was out. As Elsa pondered over who it could be, another three knocks came. 'Well, only one way to see who it is.' Elsa thought.
"Please come in." she announced from her desk, straightening up a bit more. The mystery person waited a few beats before turning the doorknob and stepping in. Elsa was surprised to see that it was Sir Edmond, but years of training herself to suppress and control her emotions allowed her surprise to not show. The room instantly got colder as the man walked in and Elsa was sure it wasn't because of her. This Sir Edmond did not fare well with her. He was a suspicious character, not to mention sneaky and underhanded. He was also very bold, to convince everyone to trick the queen like he did. His walk reminded her that of a snake's and as he crossed the room he kept eye contact with Elsa the entire time. He finally made it over to her desk and gracefully bowed to her.
"Your majesty. What a great honor it is to see you. I hope you are well?" he asked as he came back up from his bow. Elsa painted on a polite smile and gave him a nod.
"I'm doing well Sir Edmond, I hope you are the same." Elsa practically forced out. This man was the sole reason she was being married off to breed heirs for her own kingdom like some prized cattle. Edmond smirked, as if reading Elsa's thoughts and responded.
"Oh, I'm very well, majesty. Thank you for asking."
"Yes, well, before we begin to speak on the weather, is there something I can help you with?" Elsa asked, not able to keep all the venom out of her voice. Sir Edmond's smirk grew as he motioned to a chair. The queen reluctantly nodded her consent to his unspoken question. He took a seat across from Elsa and crossed his leg. Elsa stared at the move and Edmond noticed. He smiled as he addressed his action.
"It's something that the English are accustomed to doing. I guess I adsorbed some of their mannerisms during my stay in London." He explained nonchalantly.
"So you've traveled then?" Elsa asked as she watched him warily. Like one would a poisonous viper.
"Yes, extensively. You know, I originally hail from England. I then moved to Arendelle as a young boy. I often travel back there."
"Doing what?" Elsa asked. Edmond plastered on his snake like grin again.
"Oh, this and that." he simply responded.
"Hmm. Yes, well, like I said Sir Edmond. Is there something I can help you with?" Instead of answering, he dug in his jacket's pocket for a cigarette. He took one out of its solid gold casing and lit it. Elsa was speechless and appalled. How dare he make such a bold and disrespectful move? Then Elsa realized, he was trying to get a rise out of her. He knew that she did not trust him and he was defiantly up to something. He stared at Elsa as he slowly exhaled smoke. Elsa's gaze did not wavier from his either as she rose to the challenge. He smirked again, acknowledging her resilience to lose her temper.
As Elsa stared at him, she realized that something about Sir Edmond seemed frightfully familiar. He reminded her of her father, in looks only. He had the same nose and cheekbones as the previous King and he had his mustache styled the same way as her father. The only difference was his eyes and hair. Something seemed unreal about his eyes. Where her father's was a warm and kind brown, his seemed a cold and unfeeling bright green. It seemed like there was nothing behind them. No soul. His hair was longer and jet black slicked back with an obscene amount of hair product. They studied each other for a while before Edmond finally spoke again.
"Well, your majesty, I just wanted to make sure you weren't terribly upset with me. What with tricking the entire council, your head advisor man servant, and yourself, into agreeing to this arranged marriage ball. I was really only trying to do what's best for the future of Arendelle." He spoke like he really believed it himself as he took another drag from his half-finished cigarette. Two could play that game.
"Not at all Edmond." She dropped the 'Sir' on purpose to remind him of his place beneath the queen. It had the desired effect as his lecherous grin die down a bit. She could have sworn his eyes flashed red for a split second, but it was probably just a trick of the light. It was now Elsa's turn to smirk as she spoke.
"As you just stated, you were just thinking of what is best for Arendelle. I can't blame a fool for his assumptions. But for future reference Edmond, let the queen do the thinking. I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself." As Elsa spoke she could see the man getting angrier and angrier, though to the untrained eye he hid it well. Elsa placed her hands on top of her oak desk, crossing one over the other as if to say, 'Your move.' Instead of rising to Elsa's challenge he gracefully bowed out, throwing her a smile that said, 'Next time.'
"Well your majesty, I feel thoroughly chastised." He said good naturedly with a friendly smile. At this point they both knew whatever the other said was faux. He dashed out the rest of his cigarette on the arm of the chair he was sitting in. Elsa's eye twitched the slightest at the blatant sign of disrespect.
"I just wanted to make sure you weren't too cross with me." As he spoke these words he stood and began straightening his jacket.
"Not at all. But the next time you wish to speak with me, please make an appointment. I don't usually receive people in my study, or unannounced. And if you light another cigarette in my presence again without asking my permission first, I will personally see to it you won't be able to light another one ever again." She responded as she too stood.
"Very well your majesty." He bowed and turned, to make like he was about to leave. He then stopped and spun back around to face Elsa, smirk firmly in place.
"Oh, and your majesty? They really are doing some remarkable things in England. They have these nifty new prototype inventions that can take an image of a person. Like an instant painting. Incredible really. They stole it from the French of course, but they have really improved upon it."
"Really." Elsa deadpanned, not at all interested.
"Oh yes my queen. You see, I brought one back with me from my last trip and I've been working on my, what do the Brits call it… ah yes, I've been working on my photography." Elsa stared at him blankly, wondering where he was going with this.
"Well, good for you. Everyone needs a hobby."
"That's exactly what I think! You know, I'm particularly fond of taking photos of that beautiful royal garden. One really sees some interesting sights in that place." His voice turned darker at the end of his sentence. Elsa's eyes widened, just the slightest. He couldn't be insinuating what she thinks he is. Could he? Had he seen her and Anna kiss? No, impossible. No one was around except Kristoff and Rapunzel. Elsa keep a cool façade as she continued to seem disinterested.
"Is that so? Well we do have many exotic plants from all over the world to admire."
"Quite right." Edmond simply responded. He then turned to leave again. This time he stopped in front of the closed door, not turning around as he spoke.
"Oh, and one more thing Queen Elsa. Please tell your bumbling servant boy… Kai I believe, to stop trying to dig up information on me. His efforts are just embarrassing, really." And with that he opened the study's door and left.
Elsa sat back in her chair, staring at the door where that snake of a man had just walked out of.
'What the hell? What just happened?' Elsa thought as she sank in her chair, hands over her face, exhausted.
'I need to hold a private meeting with Kai ASAP. I hope Anna's day is going much better than mine.'
AN: Okay just so you guys know, this story is in no way historically accurate. The first idea for a camera prototype wasn't even invented until like hundreds of years after the Frozen time period. This story is not going to be historically accurate in any way shape or form. But it's not going to be over the top. Like I'm not going to have cars and stuff like that. But a Frozen steampunk Universe would be pretty awesome right? Hmm, maybe I spoke too soon. Anyway, next chapter is switching back over to where we last left Anna and Rapunzel. And this Sir Edmond guy, asshole am I right? So anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. More Elsanna underway next one. Peace! :)
P.S. A lot of you guys said I should do the Anna dressed up like a man storyline and the more I thought about it the more I was like, hmm, I can make this work. So I'm doing that, but I can't decide if It's going to be the usual, dress up like a man, or a twist I thought of, going to Grand Pabi and actually turning Anna into a man for one night. Like a Cinderella type thing where the clock strikes midnight and she turns back into a girl. Or like she's a man for a week or 3 days or something. I don't know, tell me what you guys think. I really need your input.
UPDATE: I put a poll on my page so you guys can vote there. I want to know which you prefer, if you guys don't have a preference I think I'll just stick with the "Anna dressed like a man" storyline. I didn't know what a g!p was, but I was just recently informed, and I'm not putting it down or anything, to each his own really, but I have no intentions on doing that. So, if you guys want to vote go on ahead, if not that's cool too. :)